People have been impressing their dates with chopstick dexterity since the Shang Dynasty. But the throw-away version of chopsticks is a less romantic yet marvelous invention, allowing you to eat your Mooshu on the go and, according to Japanese lore, improve your mental faculties in the process. (No wonder brainy Asians love them.*) Of course, there's nothing clever about the way we dispose of them.

The Japanese use about 20 billion disposable pairs a year; the Taiwanese, 1 billion; and in China an estimated 45 billion sticks are used and discarded annually. In China alone, more than 25 million fully grown trees are chopped down to make utensils that people use and toss as casually as a broken fortune cookie. This is about as crazy as using virgin trees for toilet paper.

Soft, light aspen wood (from the willow family) is used for the disposable sticks. Because the sticks demand a finer grain, up to three-fourths of a tree may actually be left to rot.

We think the best way to impress your hosts is to BYOC. Perhaps a really lovely set of bamboo sticks? They weigh next to nothing and make any meal fun. Bamboo is a grass, not a tree, and is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. (Some species grow up to 3 feet per day.) It grows easily without pesticides and has natural anti-microbial agents. Simran loves to slowly eat diced fruit with her bamboo chops.